Slumdog Millionaire features a striking hero named Jamal Malik, who is as intrepid, indomitable and pure of heart as an idealized medieval knight.

Knights never had it this tough, though: Jamal grew up an orphan in the slums of Mumbai, where garbage piles are sources of food and clothing, as well as playgrounds for the kids who live among them.

But he's on a quest worthy of a knight - to find and rescue the woman who's the love of his life. And to do that, he has to pull off an incredible feat for an uneducated teenager from the slums - he has to win big on India's version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, despite the efforts of its smarmy host and the suspicious local police who do his bidding.

Directed by Danny Boyle of Trainspotting and 28 Days Later, the movie bursts with energy to match its teeming, chaotic setting. Boyle and screenwriter Simon Beaufoy warp time as they tell Jamal's improbable story (adapted from Vikas Swarup's novel, Q&A): It jumps all over the place, often second by second.

The film is gorgeous, striking, hyperactive. But it's not just for flash, for show. Jamal's life so far is all tangled up in his childhood, and so are the questions he faces in Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. His journey is clearly not just from point A to point B, and neither is the film.

As Jamal, newcomer Dev Patel (who grew up in England) is heartbreakingly sincere as he pursues his quest. But he's got some impish humor in him too, a quality that helped him survive the slums of Mumbai. Two boys play younger versions of Jamal, and they're just remarkable, too: Watch how one of them, trapped in an outhouse, manages to escape to fulfill the quest he's on.

Nothing's going to stop him, that's made quite clear. Fate, destiny - whatever you want to call it - is working in Jamal's life.

Slumdog Millionaire is more than a little like Brazil's City of God, with a healthy dose of Charles Dickens, too. It's horrific and often grueling, which just makes sweeter the (mostly) feel-good ending - which winds up with a big Bollywood dance, just for the heck of it.

2 hours. R. Some violence, cruelty, disturbing images and profanity. Mostly in English with some Hindi and some subtitles.